A storage area network (SAN) is a network which provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to enhance storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, and are accessible to servers so that the storage devices appear to the operating system as locally attached devices. A SAN typically has its own network of storage devices that are generally not accessible through a local area network (LAN) by other devices.
An Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocol is a SAN protocol which allows iSCSI initiators to use storage devices on a (remote) iSCSI target using normal ethernet cabling. To the iSCSI initiator, the remote storage looks like a normal, locally-attached hard drive. The initiator, for example, a client computer host, is a client device for transmitting access requests, while a target is, for example, a storage device for providing an access service.
A traditional iSCSI SAN architecture cannot dynamically adjust a transmission path from the initiator to the target. Three host computers, for example, connect to a local network via identical switches and access different virtual disks of a storage device through the iSCSI protocol. Under the traditional network architecture, transmission paths for iSCSI data streams between each of the three host computers and the storage devices are fixed and unchangeable. However, bandwidth requirements for different host computers or a single host computer at different time slots may be different. Existing network management methods cannot adjust the transmission path in real time according to current bandwidth availabilities and requirements, which is unable to achieve effective network resources utilization.